Police detain Beddu Amang

JAKARTA: The National Police took former State Logistics Agency (Bulog) chief Beddu Amang into custody on Monday for investigation.

A police investigator said Beddu was formally detained at 7:30 p.m. following questioning earlier in the day.

Beddu has been named a suspect in a Rp 841 billion (US$99 million) scam involving state funds spent on livestock subsidies in 1997.

The police investigator said Beddu was being detained in order to prevent him from fleeing. Beddu was briefly named a fugitive on Saturday after investigators failed to find him at his home. On Sunday, officers arrested him at the Soekanto Police Hospital in East Jakarta where he was undergoing a medical checkup.

Under the Criminal Law Procedures Code, a person can be detained for 30 days before charges are filed against them. The detention can be extended for another 30 days. -- JP